C h r y s a n t h e m u m
by CrzyUgly
Summary: With a touch of her fingers, picking apart a person piece by piece was merely simple. But if she was found out, the finality of it would be disastrous. Full summary inside. Rated M. FemNaru. Bashing.
1. Something Rare Amongst The Leaves

Summary: With a touch of her fingers, picking a person apart piece by piece was merely simple. But if anyone were to find our her little kept secret, the finality of it would just be disastrous. Blessed with a curse, yet also cursed with a bless, Uzumaki Nao sets upon the elemental nations with one goal in mind; to become the strongest and protect what's precious to her.

Author's Notes: Will be [F]Naruto; Uzumaki Nao-chan (Age: Beginning; 3, Ending;8). Pairings will be Shika/[F]Naru. There will be a lot of fan-girl screeching. Also a major duck-butt quacking. And a little, little scarecrow crowing. Lol.

Disclaimer: Don't Own Naruto. ©Kishimoto-san.

"…What is it Teme?" [Regular Speech]  
'Oya, does he really expect me to teach him?' [Regular Thoughts]  
"**Cha! Teach Sasuke-kun you baka!**"[Demon Speech][Inner Sakura]  
'_**Only a fool would turn a blind eye at the obvious.**_' [Demon Thoughts]  
-Left, Twenty Meters- [Hand-signs]  
"_What is your status?_" [Radio Communication][Mind-link]  
_Italicized_ [Flashbacks][Dreams][Emphasis]

xXx_^^_xXx

C h r y s a n t h e m u M  
A Naruto Fan-Fiction Story

Chapter One  
Something Rare Amongst The Leaves

_She knew she had always been different. Even from such a young age, it was blaringly obvious. But to what extent? Truthfully, she didn't know herself. And as always, no one wanted to tell her. Not even the kind old man that would visit her from time to time, sometimes treating her to a nice meal of ramen. So with much curiosity as a child her age had, she decided that she would find out herself. Though, it would have been better if she didn't find out so soon. _

_To find out that the Kyubi No Yoko was sealed inside you? That she had taken to just fine. It did make sense now that she actually looked and thought about the things people would say about her when they thought she wasn't listening or paying attention. "Demon-brat", "Kyubi-spawn" and some more colorful words just to name a few. And then there was the most noticably, her wisker-like marks upon her cheeks. Ah, yes, she had taken that new well. _

_What was mildly shocking though was who her parents were. Uzumaki Kushina, the previous jailor to the fox, was her mother. Flaming red hair, light violet eyes and a mischevious grin. She could really relate to the woman who birth'd her. Then came her father. The Yondaime Hokage, Namikaze Minato. Blonde, blue-eyed and a ramen addict. Just like herself ever since the Sandaime took her to Ichirakus. It was a wonderous soup, really. It was shocking. Understatement here. It was freaking mind-blowing. Her father was the Yondaime Hokage! She had to sit down at that revelation for a bit. For a miniscule second there, hate had entered her heart. But quickly as it came, it disappeared. Because she could understand. She would have done the same thing. She didn't wholely love the people, but the village itself was a different story. And with even the smallest amount of people who were precious to her still there for her, she'd love it anyway. No matter the hardship that came with it._

_With all this, Information she should say, that had unknowningly entered her and stayed...one word described it all. BloodLine. Cursed it may sound, she thought it was useful. Information was key in survival. And with her unique ability, she was able to do much, a whole lot more._

_With all this, we now find her in such a position. Standing in front of the Cage that held the Kyubi._

_"It's just so hard to comprehend." Her soft voice muttered out; eyes the shade of sapphire sparkled in awe as she stared at the large cage before her. There, behind the large bars with was the sleeping form of the fox itsel. A piece of paper with the word 'seal' stuck in the center of it all. 'That father would sacrific his life so easily to seal you in me.'_

_Slitted red eyes blinked in weariness. The sound of somebody's voice echoing throughout the dreary sewer sounding so innocent to her hears. "…Who's there?"_

_Sapphire eyes blinked, not having expected the humongous fox to responder to her. "My name's Uzumaki Nao, I'm—for the lack of a better word—your warden."_

_Slitted red orbs looked at the person who had spoken as soon as her vision cleared from sleep. It was a girl—more of a toddler than anything else, really—with flowing sunny blond hair with a streak of red at one side and sparkling blue colored orbs sitting in Indian style on the wet floor. This child was the exact replica of the man she had come to respect in the short time she knew him. Well, besides the hair color of course, but never-the-less, she looked like him. Yes, it was definitely the child that that man had sealed her into, His own daughter if she remembered correctly. "Ah, yes." She cocked her head to the side. "I'm guessing you already know who I am?"_

_Nao nodded in confirmation. "Yes, I do."_

_She eyed the girl scrutinizing her as she did. "Are you not scared of me child?"_

_"I am." She spoke, her voice calm not once betraying how she really felt. "Anybody with half a right mind should be scared of you."_

_Kyuubi blinked, then suddenly chuckled lightly at the answer. "You have such courage for someone as young as yourself child."_

_Nao smiled bitterly at that. "I have to have courage if I'm to face a full village of hate, don't I? Only now do I know why I am hated so much."_

_The fox frowned at that. Had this child's life been so bad to warrant such a statement from her? She would have to shuffle through this child's memories later to see exactly what the girl had gone through. "What is your dream child?"_

_She blinked at the random question, but answered anyways. "To become strong in order to protect those precious to me. There may not be a lot of people who I hold dear in my heart now, but it's enough for me to keep moving forward. I do have other dreams, but this is my main goal."_

_Kyuubi blinked at that answer. This child was so young and yet she was already so wise. Even adults three times her age, she surmised, wouldn't have come up with the same answer. "You are strong child, I can see that. You are different from those before that I have encountered."_

_"Really?" She was curious to what the Kyuubi had meant. "What is it that separates me from those before?"_

_The fox chuckled again. This child was interesting in the least. "You do not seek out to become stronger for selfish reasons. Instead, you seek it because you want to protect. That is what makes you different from them. They were fools where you are not."_

_Nao smiled a little at that. Never before had she been praised by somebody besides the Sandaime. "You are not as evil as the villagers make you to be."_

_Kyuubi scoffed. "Just because I am a gigantic fox does not mean I am evil. Human beings aren't as lovely as they come either. There are some who are indeed the embodiment of evil."_

_The corner of Nao's lips threatened to twitch upward. The Kyuubi had just made a point. It was true, not all of what humans assumed evil were, even they themselves could be the epitome of evil without realizing it. And as the two conversed with each other while she was still unconscious, they both weren't aware of it yet, but a bond had already started to form between them…if only for just a little._

She scowled deeply. It had been years since then and she was now enrolled into the academy. At first, the school board wouldn't let her in saying that there was no need for a 'monster' to learn how to kill when she had already killed before. She had frowned deeply at their remark. She had wanted to protect like the Kyuubi once did, not how everyone had portrayed the fox to be. It had taken the Sandaime to make an appearance at the Academy for them to actually let her attend. And although she was grateful for his help, she knew it had only caused him much trouble with the council. Iit was one of the reasons why she had tried to do things herself instead of as the old man for help. And when she had finally started school, the teachers—minus one—had treated her like the plague. They had even gone as far as sabotage her learning by teaching her wrongly. Luckily, the fox had drilled history and hand-signs into her like there was no tomorrow amongst other things. Mentally berating herself for her musings, she turned back to the matter at hand as the screeching of voices of fanatical fan-girls cooed at their 'love.'

She stared incredulously, sharp violet eyes narrowed into slits. Was the whole class so ignorant that they couldn't see the embedded magnets within the target dummies that were practiced upon by the royally screwed-up teme? They must be, as they cheered him on as though he was an almighty god, their eyes sparkling in unrestrained admiration leaving only a few. Even the teachers hadn't seemed to notice, nor did they look like they had cared. They were too busy playing kiss-up with the duck-butt avenger with all his emo-ness. She snarled mentally. It wasn't fair. This wasn't fair. Konoha was filled with narrow-minded fools who only cared about attaining power and she would have done off with it if it had not been for the younger generations who still held their innocence to the world. And for them, she would stay loyal and protect.

As her name was called, she stepped up facing the targets as they were being switched. There were no more luring metals on them. To her right, a white-haired teacher handed her some practice Kunai and Shuriken. It was a set of three each, blunted and chipped. Taking a quick glance at the dark-haired boy beside her, she frowned as her eyes caught the sight of perfect projectiles. So that was how the man wanted to play. Reaching out her fingerless gloved hands, she purposely made contact with the man's sickly pale skin, the smell of snake present making her sensitive nose twitch at the disgusting stench. As skin met skin, she was rewarded with an onslaught of memories and thoughts, all past, present and whatever little future it had, some of which were far beyond what she had expected. Sabotaging her grades and giving her a Genjutsu-induced paper exam she had, of course, known about it when the teacher first came to help teach the class. What got her disturbed and a little mad was the fact that the selfish bastard had killed his own teammates on a mission just so that he could meet his master.

Putting the memories and thoughts of her prey towards the back of her mind, she focused on her current assignment. There would always be time later for her to record down what she had just seen and heard. Giving a curt nod to the teacher, she stepped up to the visible line in the dirt that marked the place for her to begin. From the corner of her eyes, she could see that nobody paid attention to her, as many thought her to be the dead-last like she acted. Noticing that none of the teachers were paying attention to her, save for one, she channeled a small amount of chakra to the weapons grasped in her hands. They glowed a faint clashing of blue and red, a color dangerously close to the color of here eyes. She was thankful that the person who was actually paying attention to here was standing in a place where he couldn't see. She didn't like the fact of having to explain thing she didn't want to..yet.

As fast as she could, she flung the weapons. They sailed through the air hissing as they went. A second later, all six projectiles embedded themselves into its targets. Four hit dead-center and the other two were somewhere close. She scowled to herself, hating the fact that she had to hold back for the sake of her survival..until she became an actual ninja under the command of the Hokage, that is. Being a civilian was not fun, especially when the civilian side of the council were out to rid her from the world every single day. Giving an audible sigh, she walked back to her previous place amongst the rest of her classmates, standing next to the stoic Abarame Shino and watched the last person perform basic weapon throwing. She frowned as she watched. Another girl, who had the potential to be a great Kunoichi, was too busy fawning over a boy to excel any farther than she already was. What the hell did these girls see in that particular boy anyway? To her, the raven-haired boy was too power-hungry and strung up on revenge, probably ending up betraying his home at the first sign of invitation. Oh, how later she would curse herself for such an accurate thought.

"Alright class!" A brown-haired teacher wearing the standard Chunin uniform shouted over the crowd. He had a scar running across the bridge of his nose. "That's all for today. You're dismissed!"

The eight year olds bounced up and down cheering as they filed out the academy yard as teachers walked back into the school building to do their last paper grading before going home. She watched as one by one, the people disappeared leaving the area empty except for herself. Deciding that she should train before heading home, she began her trek towards training ground forty-four, one that she usually frequented. It had all and everything she needed to continue her shinobi training. It was a large area surround by a forest, thick with oak trees reaching the sky and a river with plentiful of fish nearby. It was the ideal place. She had founded the place a little after her fourth birthday. Apparently the villagers had decided to give her a birthday present and raided her home. She had bounded off at the first sign of danger, but even then she had been chased across the entirety of the village until she had accidentally stumbled across the Forest Of Death.

Clearing her thoughts as she came into the clearing, she shed off the orange monstrosity she called a jacket leaving on her orange pants. A tight black shirt with a white swirl clung onto her wrapped chest. She hated the color orange. It was, by far, the brightest color made for ninja attire. It practically screamed 'Kill me'. Then again, she wasn't wearing it because she wanted to but because she had to. Placing her jacket on a branch within a tree near the ground, she sat herself down in Indian-style to practice her meditation. This helped her learn the art of patience. As she sat, she also trained her senses. Focusing chakra into her eyes, she took in her surroundings. The bark of a tree was splintered signaling somebody had been here before her practicing their tree walking. A few hundred feet away up in a tree, there was a nest with two baby birds waiting for their parents to come back and feed them And in the river there were the shadows of a few fishes swimming upstream.

Half an hour later, she decided to stop training her eyes and had decided to pick up where she had left off with her hearing. Closing her eyes, she listened intently to what was happening around her. Birds chirped in the distance as the current of the waves gave a soft roar. Nearbly, a soft chorus of breathing was heard..huh? That wasn't right. Not wanting to scare off whoever it was that had been spying on her, she brought both of her hands up into a seal and channeled the necessary chakra into them. Not a second later when she had collected the right amount, she let go of the chakra into a beacon-like sonar scanning the area. It was a female from the looks of things, familiar at that too. The feel of the intruder's chakra signature was something along the lines of being a calm wave of clear blue water. She smiled. It was none other than Hyuuga Hinata, the Heiress to the biggest clan in Konoha.

"…I know you're there Hinata-chan. You can come out now."

An 'eep' was heard from behind a tree before a shuffle of feet came from behind a tall oak revealing a blue-haired girl. She wore a gray and lavender jacket too big for her small frame. She also had some blue pants that went just below the knee and a pair of navy blue sandals on her feet. Her pale visage was tinted in a deep crimson as her pupil-less lavender eyes stared at her hands as she poked them together. Her posture and composure was nothing but shy..timid even.

"I-I'm sorry! I d-didn't mean to s-spy on you! I promise!"

Violet eyes scrutinized her. She knew the girl had confidence issues, having had contact with her once. Her father, the Hyuuga head was a strict man who had put her down one too many times that it broke her. Added to the fact that she looked like her late mother who had passed away from bloodline poisoning just after giving birth to her younger sister. Too add to that, her father had even pitted the younger daughter against his eldest in matches that were said to be friendly. Only it wasn't and she ended up losing at the time with many closed tenketsu points. Nao felt sympathy for her. Family wasn't supposed to do that to one another. Not that she knew what it was like to have a family since she didn't have anyone, but if she did..she wouldn't treat them like that.

She stood up and turned to girl, smiling as she did. "Nah. It's alright Hinata-chan!"

Hinata let out a squeak. "O-oh, okay."

Nao sighed. It was just like the girl to cower. "What are you doing her Hinata-chan?"

"A-ano…I, um, you see, u-um, s-sorry!" Tears prickled at the corner of her eyes. She had wanted to ask if the other girl wanted to be friends, but it was hard. She had never had the courage to do so before and she wasn't about to have it now. "I-I'm so s-sorry I disturbed y-you! I'll take my leave n-now!" Hinata began turning to leave, the prospect of running on the forefront of her mind.

Hinata was the first person to think of her as anything other than a 'demon' and she would be damn if she let her go away without an answer. Plus, Hinata was the only person who probably referred her as a she and not a he like everyone else believed her to be. It wasn't her fault she didn't like perfume and makeup. Not to mention, her tightly wrapped cleavage that was a size too big for her age. A second later, Nao was besides the other girl tugging at her sleeve. "Don't go. Please stay."

Hinata froze where she stood. Maybe the other wanted to be friends too? The person before her was her idol. Nao's strength and unwavering spirit in what she did had Hinata baffled and she wanted to be just like that. She didn't trust her voice to come out quivering, so instead she nodded her head, her blue hair flying as she did. Hinata was too afraid to be rejected.

They stood like that for a few minutes. Then before Hinata had a chance to say anything the other girl pulled her over to where she was before and sat down dragging her to do the same. "Are you feeling alright now?"

"Y-yes, thank you." Hinata was grateful. Nao was kind and full of energy. She was also strong and determined to show others just who she really was whether they hated her or not. Still, Hinata couldn't understand the hatred that was directed towards the blond. But before that, she would gain her trust first and foremost before anything else.

Smiling brightly at her, Nao peered to look at Hinata, her darker violets met a lightly colored kind of violet. "Don't do that." Hinata was about to ask and she shook his head. "Don't stutter when you're with me. You don't have a reason to do that." Her voice was soft. "We're friends right?"

Hinata looked startled at that. It was true that they had always sat together during class. They had even eaten together during lunch too, but she wasn't sure about being friends. Though she did want that more than anything. "…F-friends?"

"Of course!" Nao grinned cheekily. "Why, you don't want to be friends?" Violet eyes peer at the other curiously, almost afraid.

"No! T-that's not it!" Porcelain colored hands flailed about. This had been what she was hoping for and she wasn't about to let it pass. "I want to be your friend! Y-your best friend, in fact! I-it's just that I've never had one b-before…" Hinata's voice trailed off sadly. All her 'friends' were of people from the clan only.

Nao sighed in relief, she had been hoping it was a yes. "Thank goodness! I was beginning to think you didn't want to be my friend."

Hinata shook her head furiously. "No! I had always wanted to be your friend Nao-chan! I've just never had the courage to ask!" When she finally realized what she had done she immediately placed a hand over her mouth. Never before had she spoke with such conviction before.

Nao laughed. "You should speak like that often Hinata-chan, I like this you more than I like the stuttering you—not that I didn't like you before, of course." It was said in haste hoping the other didn't misunderstand.

Hinata giggled at the other's panic state. "I understand Nao-chan!" She smiled brightly. She would act a little, if not fully, confident for the sake of her newest friend.

Nao pouted cutely as she crossed her arms around her chest. Suddenly a thought came to her and she looked at Hinata. "Hinata-chan, you want to train with me?"

She jerked a little startled. Hinata hadn't expected the other to ask her to train with her. "…Really?" She couldn't help but ask.

Nao smiled and nodded. "Sure. I was in the middle of training my senses…would you like to join me?"

Nobody had ever wanted to train with her before. They had all thought her to be weak. "Okay, but I don't know how to do that…" Hinata was a little embarrassed about that fact. All she had trained in was the Hyuuga Taijutsu, a very deadly dance called the Jyuken.

"That's alright. I'll teach you." Nao grinned good-naturedly. "Come on! How about we introduce ourselves first? Since, you know, we'll be training together for a while and all."

She cocked her head to the side cutely. "…Don't we already know about each other?" Hinata was confused.

Nao shook her head. "No, we don't. In the Academy, we are taught that deception is a shinobi's greatest weapon right?" Hinata nodded. "…Well, from what you know of me in the academy is only partial to what I can really do."

"…Really?" Even she didn't know that; she felt disappointed at herself though. Hinata had always watched the other like a hawk.

Nao nodded. "Yes. What you know of me during class is what I call a façade..a mask, you could say."

"A mask?" Hinata cocked her head to the side. "Why would you do that?"

"Err…" She racked her brain to come up with an answer. "The less people who know about my abilities the more they'll underestimate me. You should too…I mean, get stronger training with me, but keep your skills to the minimum when you're at the academy. It gives you an advantage over your enemies. Not that our classmates are our enemies, but you can't be too safe." Nao muttered the last sentence and stroked her chin in thought. "Why don't you do the same? You know, act like the shy and timid Hyuuga but obviously train to become more confident and strong all the while make everyone underestimate you. What do you say?" It was a good plan, a perfect plan. Kunoichi's had always been underestimated.

"I..I don't know." Hinata wasn't too sure about it. "Do you think I can?"

Nao sighed. Hinata put herself down too much. "Of course I think you can!"

"Alright!" Hinata did the most uncharacteristic thing ever. She pumped her fist in the air. "I definitely won't let you down Nao-chan!"

Nao grinned as she also pumped her fist in the air. "Yeah! You show them Hinata-chan!"

They both began to laugh, it was the beginning of a friendship that knew no bounds. Both didn't know it, but in the years to come they were going to be two of the best ninjas the Leaf had produced, a leader and her right hand woman.

"Oh!" Nao suddenly shouted startling the other out of their laughing fit. "We still haven't introduced ourselves yet!"

Hinata blinked. Indeed, they did forget. "Ah, yes we haven't. What do we say about ourselves Nao-chan?"

"…Hmm? Well, you know…likes, dislikes, hobbies and dreams for the future." She had learned this from having contact with a certain scarecrow who bordered to be aloof and weird. "I'll start off…My name is Uzumaki Nao. I like training and the few precious people I have…I dislike the bigots of this village and power hungry fools. I also dislike corrupted people. And definitely traitors." She took a breath and continued. "My hobbies…well, I guess it could be reading and gathering a variety of plants. Finally, my dream is to get stronger so that I can protect my precious people and finally become Hokage." She nodded her head to Hinata telling her that it was her turn.

"Um…" Hinata began her speech. "My name is Hyuuga Hinata. I, um, like my precious people and learning about plants. I dislike mean people. My hobbies are flower pressing and my dream is to change the way of the Hyuuga. I want to destroy the old ways and merge the Main and Branch family together." She finished with determination, her eyes sparkling.

Nao nodded her head. She had to admit, Hinata's goal was admirable. Hard with many roadblocks just like hers, but she believed Hinata could do it if she set her mind on it. "That's a nice dream Hina-chan. Very admirable, in fact. I have no doubt that you'll achieve it one day."

Hinata smiled gratefully at her statement. "Thank you." She didn't need to tell Nao that she would achieve her dream. She knew it in her heart that the other girl could, Nao's determination was far beyond hers.

She grinned foxily. "No problem. Now…" Nao stood up and motioned her to do the same. "Let's have a little Taijutsu battle, yes?"

"Taijutsu battle…?" She asked a bit confused. "I thought we were going to train our senses?"

Nao laughed. "Oh! Well, I wanted to test where you stand first. You know, a person's physique and all that stuff."

"Oh, okay." Hinata stood up and faced her.

Nao took a fighting stance. "You want to become stronger right?"

Hinata nodded. "Of course!"

"Then what better to do that than search out your weaknesses and train them?"

"Oh. That makes sense." She settled herself into the basic Jyuken stance, her feet bent and spread apart, her arms raised ready to strike. "Byakugan!" Veins bulged around her eyes.

"Give me all you've got, alright?" She wanted to know what the other was capable of. Nao knew Hinata's attitude when it came to violence. She would hold back and only use a fraction of her true skills to test the girl. So, when she saw her nod, Nao dashed forward. "Here I come!"

Cocking her right fist back, Nao hurled it towards the other's face. She saw Hinata's eyes go wide before it blinked and the girl ducked under to get out of the way. Hinata brought her chakra-inflamed hand forward intent on striking a tenketsu located in Nao's left arm, but she smacked it away, parrying her with every hit and thrust. Many times, Nao noticed the other had grazed her. Her arms were tingling with a burning sensation, but it was nothing she couldn't handle. Back-flipping, she launched her right foot up towards Hinata's stomach, but missed. She landed a few paces away from the other and waited for Hinata to strike, at which she did. The two sparred a few more minutes gouging the others abilities. Before going any further, she noticed that Hinata's breathing was coming out in haggard breaths. Nao had forgotten about her own amazing stamina.

"Alright, let's stop." Nao announced, relaxing her posture.

"Okay." Hinata did as told and stopped, planting her hands on her knees to keep her standing. She was winded. Taking a peek at the girl before her, she wasn't surprised when Nao wasn't even tired.

Walking over to her orange jacket, Nao searched a pocket and pulled out a water bottle and tossed it to Hinata. "Drink this."

Hinata caught the water and did as Nao asked before wiping at her mouth. It was refreshing. "Thank you."

She bobbed her head. "No problem." Nao sat down under the shade of a tree and patted the area next to herself. Taking in the cue, Hinata trotted over and seated herself down. "I think you have what it takes to become a great Kunoichi Hina-chan…"

Hinata could tell there was something else the other wanted to say. "But…?"

She scratched the back of her head sheepishly. "But…You're holding back way too much." Nao saw her eyes widen and that was all she needed in confirmation. "You're afraid of hurting people, right?"

Hinata blinked. It was the first time anyone has ever asked her that. It was true. She was definitely afraid of hurting people if she could help it. She nodded her head slightly. "Yes."

Nao sighed. "Can I ask you something Hina-chan?" Hinata nodded and so she continued. "What would you do if somebody was to hurt your sister? Let's say that he or she wanted to bring your sister away, even if it meant killing her if they had to. What would you do? Will you still be too afraid to hurt that person because of your kind nature and let them do as they please?"

Her eyes widened. She had never thought about it like that. If anybody dared hurt her sister, she would…well, she definitely knew the answer to that. Hinata loved her sister even if her sister didn't return her feelings. "I'll kill them." The declaration was one of resolve.

Nao blinked at her answer before grinning. There was hope for her yet. "Good." Hinata looked at her. "The world out there isn't nice, nor is it fair. An enemy will use any means to get what they want. You can't be so naïve and think that they'll stop what they're doing because you ask them nicely. I hope you take this to heart Hina-chan, I really hope you do."

She knew for a fact that Nao wasn't lying to her. She knew the Academy prepared you for your role as a ninja, but it was up to you to take up that role. Hinata nodded her head. "I will." She would listen to Nao's words and take it to heart.

The two sat in silence, enjoying the scenery and each other's presence. Before long though, Nao had started asking questions about what Hinata did when she trained and she answered without much thought. They talked about chakra, even went about asking how much each had. Then they talked about chakra control, Nao asked her if she knew about the types of chakra control exercises and Hinata had told her she only knew tree climbing and water walking. Hinata asked Nao if she knew how to do them and Nao opted to show her. Hinata did the same when the other asked. Nao then mentioned about Kunai balancing, going as far as showing Hinata the basic way to do it and her invented way too. Hinata had been in awe at the display and told Nao that even she didn't know about that particular control exercise.

Two hours and a few splintered trees later, the two collapsed on the ground. Nao had mentioned how these exercises also built up the capacity of their chakra and Hinata was eager to do so. Her capacity wasn't small, but Hinata had wanted to expand it a little more for future reassurances. It wouldn't do any good if she ran out of chakra in the middle of battle and fell because of exhaustion after all. When they finally caught their breaths, Hinata taking a longer time, Nao told her about speed training. She told her she was fast, but she didn't specifically go into details. Hinata needed to gain more of her trust before she would actually tell her the actual truth about herself. Nao had also advised that it would be a good idea for Hinata to wear some weights and told her how many pounds was best for a beginner like her. Hinata had only nodded at everything she said. She knew Hinata would do it if it meant getting stronger to protect her precious people just like how she was.

They had talk about a few other things too. The most interesting subject brought up was about their classmates and who out of all them would graduate to become Genins. Nao purposely forgot to tell her about the secondary exam after the first. It wasn't her place to anyway. To Nao, if one couldn't learn the aspects of teamwork then there was no need for that team. They would be killed on their first C-ranked mission. It would have been even more pathetic if they had died on a D-rank chore.

"So, tell me about your family, yeah?" Nao asked Hinata. Though, she had already known what they were like, she asked anyway. It wasn't such a good idea to blurt out something about the Hyuuga's that the other hadn't told her personally. "Truthfully…I know who my parents are, but I can't say who. It's an S-class secret." Nao smiled at her mysteriously.

Hinata stared at Nao. An S-class secret…? Who on earth would classify the name of Nao's parents an S-class secret? Maybe they were important people? Hinata sighed. This was a touchy subject for her. "My mother…she died from a rare bloodline poisoning just after giving birth to my younger sister, Hanabi-chan. Since then, my father's been harsh and strict on me. He even belittles me when I make mistakes." She shook her head. "Sometimes, he would even tell me that I'm useless and would never amount to nothing unlike my sister."

Nao knew that, but there was something off about the way her father treated her and the look behind his cold façade. "…Did you ever think that maybe your father's just acting the way he is for your sake?" She saw Hinata's blank look and elaborated. "The cage-bird seal is given to the Hyuuga Branch family, right?"

Hinata nodded her head surprised. How did Nao know about that? "You know of the seal placed upon the Branch family?"

Nao froze. She had forgotten, she wasn't supposed to know that…not yet. "Anyway, don't you think your father's trying to keep you from getting the seal?" She was trying to distract the other and distract her it did.

The question hit her like a ton of bricks. Why hadn't she noticed until now? Sure, her father was harsh on her, but there were times when she would catch the upturn of his lips when she did something right. "…Now that you mention it, it does seem that way." Hinata conceded. She'll probably look into it later.

The blond mentally sighed in relief. "Doesn't it? I mean…maybe he's trying to push you because he wants you to grow into be a decent Kunoichi." Nao cocked his head. "He just doesn't seem to understand your situation, that's all."

She smiled at Nao. "Yes, it seems that way."

"So, continue on. I'm interested in your family." Nao encouraged her. _'Especially anything regarding the seal_.'

"Oh! Um, well, besides father and Hanabi-chan…I have a cousin." Her eyes turned sad. "He's in the Branch family. His father, my uncle, died a few years back when Cloud tried to kidnap me."

That was all she knew as far as Nao could tell. Even though she knew more than necessary, she couldn't really tell her. "Oh, I'm sorry about that."

Hinata shook her head. "It's alright. The past is the past. You can't change what's already happened then, but you can make sure it doesn't happen in the future."

"I couldn't have said that better than myself!" Nao exclaimed. Looking up at the sky, Nao noticed the time it was. It was getting dark. Time had gone by fast today. "It's getting late. You should get home." She stood up and dusted herself before holding out her hand to Hinata.

Now that she took in her surroundings, she noticed it was dark. She took Nao's offered hand and let the girl pull her up. "Thanks." Hinata, too, dusted herself.

"You want me to walk you home?" Nao was concerned for her.

Hinata smiled, but shook her head. "It's okay. I can get home on my own."

"…If you're sure." She didn't want anything to happen to her first friend. "I'll see you in class Monday and tell you where we'll train then, okay?"

Hinata nodded. "Okay. Bye, Nao-chan!" She turned and dashed home.

"Bye!" She called after Hinata before grabbing her orange jacket and putting it on. Sighing one last time, she headed home and called it a night. But not before dinner of course and maybe..write down some very interesting facts from today.

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Here's my revamped first chapter; second chapter will be loaded up soon, a week at most. Please read and review; flames will be used to warm things up cause it's purdy cold here.

CrzyUgly


	2. Falling Petals Dancing In The Wind

Summary: With a touch of her fingers, picking a person apart piece by piece was merely simple. But if anyone were to find our her little kept secret, the finality of it would just be disastrous. Blessed with a curse, yet also cursed with a bless, Uzumaki Nao sets upon the elemental nations with one goal in mind; to become the strongest and protect what's precious to her.

Author's Notes: Will be [F]Naruto; Uzumaki Nao-chan (Age: Beginning; 3, Ending;8). Pairings will be Shika/[F]Naru. There will be a lot of fan-girl screeching. Also a major duck-butt quacking. And a little, little scarecrow crowing. Lol.

Disclaimer: Don't Own Naruto. ©Kishimoto-san.

"…What is it Teme?" [Regular Speech]  
'Oya, does he really expect me to teach him?' [Regular Thoughts]  
"**Cha! Teach Sasuke-kun you baka!**"[Demon Speech][Inner Sakura]  
'_**Only a fool would turn a blind eye at the obvious.**_' [Demon Thoughts]  
-Left, Twenty Meters- [Hand-signs]  
"_What is your status?_" [Radio Communication][Mind-link]  
_Italicized_ [Flashbacks][Dreams][Emphasis]

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C h r y s a n t h e m u M  
A Naruto Fan-Fiction Story

Chapter Two  
Falling Petals Dancing In the Wind

AN; Hey guys, I'm finally back on writing for this story. Took me a very, and I mean very long time to come back. But I had issues I had to deal with. Anyway, expect chapters to come up Weekly. XD


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